


Bittersweet

by Set_WingedWarrior



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Mental Breakdown, Penny didn't come back, What-If, but weiss is there for her, ruby is tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:08:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21879364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Set_WingedWarrior/pseuds/Set_WingedWarrior
Summary: Meeting the father of your dead best friend is one Hell of an emotional rollercoster, and the last push Ruby needed to break down. But, luckily, Weiss is right there ready to catch her.-Oneshot based on MusingsFromMars' dream/post.
Relationships: Penny Polendina & Ruby Rose, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 12
Kudos: 121





	Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MusingsFromMars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusingsFromMars/gifts).



> Based on MusingsFromMars' [dream/post](https://musings-from-mars.tumblr.com/post/185985830760/i-just-had-the-most-vivid-and-heartbreaking-rwby) from long before Volume 7 aired.  
> There it is, I promised to write it and I finally did! Better late than never! I hope you'll like it, and that it's worthy of the original.  
> Enjoy!

It was early in the morning, around 6am.

Despite the “miscommunications”, the gang got their meeting with General Ironwood, also thanks to Winter’s intervention (they were lucky Weiss wasn’t the only good Schnee around).

The situation didn’t look great. The General’s heart was in the right place but some of his plans and course of action were… _questionable_. Questionable enough to make Ruby decide to keep some secrets at the moment.

It was a hard choice and even a harder burden, but Ruby was lucky her friends trusted and backed her up even when she saw disagreement in some of their eyes.

They’d get there and decide after seeing the bigger picture.

Then after their meeting the General thought it would benefit them to upgrade their weapons. So, he took them to one of Atlas’ finest minds to take care of them before calling it a night and letting these poor kids (and Qrow) get the rest they deserved after such an intense day.

And that’s why Ruby was there, staring at the ceiling, unable to get more than three hours of sleep despite her body begging her to.

Her weapon-enthusiasm was enough of an excuse for her lack of sleep if she got caught, but a genius upgrading her beloved Crescent Rose wasn’t the reason she was wide awake.

The reason was who that genius was: Pietro Polendina.

Penny’s father. The man who made her best friend. The best friend she saw die in front of her eyes, unable to do anything to save her.

No wonder her mind couldn’t let her sleep in peace.

Deciding it was useless to lay there doing nothing, Ruby quietly dressed and headed to the laboratory where she would find her upgraded Crescent Rose and her best friend’s father.

She timidly knocked the door, waiting for a response of any kind before letting herself in. “Come in!” a rough friendly voice answered. Ruby pushed the button and the doors opened up in front of her.

“Good morning Dr. Polendina.”

“Good morning to you! I didn’t expect someone so early; excited for you weapon?”

“Yeah, I guess we can say that.” Ruby shyly looked around.

The man moved with his big futuristic chair “You are the scythe wielder, right?” Ruby nodded and he handed her Crescent Rose “Here you go, as good as new! Even better, if I may say.” He said jokingly. He really was as nice as Penny used to say.

Ruby opened her weapon, testing it, before putting it at its place on her back “Thank you so much doctor. I… I didn’t really introduce myself yet, I’m-“

“I already know who you are, miss Rose.” His eyes softened, filled with melancholy “And I think you know how.”

Ruby looked at him with her big widened silver eyes “Penny… told you about me?”

“She told me about whole Team RWBY.” He smiled sweetly “But you more than anyone else. Ruby-” he sighed and cleaned his glasses with a piece of cloth while trying to collect himself. His eyes were watery. Then he made a few steps and got his hands on hers “I wanted to thank you. Her life has been unfairly short, but thanks to you it was a good one. You made her incredibly happy.” his voice was trembling as he let out a sigh clearly made to cover a sob “Thank you for being the best friend she could ever have. Thank you.”

Ruby was overwhelmed, her own emotions now mixed up with the feelings she got through empathizing with the man in front of her. She sobbed, her eyes at the verge of tears, but still managed to speak her mind and say what she was meant to say since the moment she first met him.

“Dr. Polendina… I am the one who wants to thank you.” Being able to say these words out loud brought her over the edge. Ruby started crying but didn’t let the tears stop her from telling what she wanted to say “Penny was… such a beautiful person. She was nice, and fun, and so kind…” she was fully sobbing at this point “and she always told me how wonderful her father was. And she was right but I already believed her, because only someone so great could’ve made such a good person.” She sobbed along with Pietro “Just… thank you for letting her be with me. Thank you.”

This was too much for both of them, and Ruby left sobbing, leaving behind the man stunned and heartbroken, still mourning his daughter even after so many months.

Ruby didn’t know where to go, instinct brought her back to her team’s dorms but she didn’t want to wake them up and be seen like this.

She didn’t get a choice though when a sleepy Weiss carefully opened the door and saw her partner in tears.

The sight immediately woke her up “Ruby, what’s wrong?”

The younger girl said nothing and opted to enter a spare room nearby. Weiss followed her with no hesitation, but she didn’t like what she saw.

Ruby was pacing around nervously, her hands getting a grip of her own hair apparently not knowing what to do with them, while her tears kept silently falling from her eyes.

“Ruby..?” Weiss tried to call again, and it is at this point that the girl couldn’t take it anymore.

Ruby fell on her knees right on front of one of the beds, hiding her face on its covers. Her sobs became louder and more violent, and the other girl immediately took place at her side.

“Ruby please, what’s wrong?” Weiss tried again.

“ _Everything’s wrong!_ ” Ruby snapped, months of horrors and stress finally catching up to her. Everything she went through, all the horrible things she saw, the fear, the things she had to do, all the risks. All of it while putting on a brave face all the time, like the leader she needed to be. Everything crushed her altogether leaving nothing but fear and exhaustion.

Weiss widened her eyes; she never saw her friend like this.

It was a painful sight but she knew she needed to let it all out. So she stayed there, holding her, letting her get rid of all the pain she bottled inside.

“We’re putting up a fight against an immortal being who wants us all dead, the only person who could and should help us disappeared, and I’m not sure if our only second option is trustworthy or not! I’m-“ she gulped a sob “I’m a 17 year old, I’m not supposed to make this kind of choices! Ever since the Fall of Beacon I had to be the leader, to show no hesitation in front of anything and keep the hopes up, but the more time passes by and the harder it gets with all the insanity that is going on!”

She looked like she was having trouble breathing and Weiss did her best to soothe and calm her down, gently caressing her back.

It seemed to work and soon Ruby was able to go on “Penny and Pyrrha died in front of my eyes, our journey was a walk in a bath blood! So much destruction… I can’t take it anymore, it’s too much!” another sob. “What if something happens to some of us? I don’t’ want to lose anyone else. I-I… I don’t want to die.” For the first time, she looked up right at Weiss’ eyes with the most terrified and broken look “I’m scared. I’m scared for me, and you. I’m scared of Salem. I’m scared of Atlas. I’m scared of _everything_!”

Weiss kept trying her best to comfort her without saying anything, knowing that Ruby needed to let it all out, and refused to stop her until she did it.

“I wanna go home Weiss. I wanna go back to our dorm at Beacon. I wanna play Remnant Conquest in the library. I wanna stay up ‘till three AM while you tutor me in Dust Theory. I wanna read books with Blake, I wanna play video games with Yang. I wanna… Weiss, I miss feeling safe and happy. I miss Beacon, I… I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know what to do…” she started to repeat that last sentence several time, like a mantra. Her eyes darted around as she reached the peak of her breakdown.

Weiss grabbed her more firmly, pressing their bodies together in a tight hug, and finally spoke to her “Ruby, I promise it’s okay. Please keep going. Just talk to me. I’m here, talk to me.”

“I was so terrified after the Fall” that was the first time she admitted that out loud “You and Blake were gone, Yang lost her arm and her mind, and I’ve never felt like myself since then. Happiness, joy, they’ve been gone. They _are_ gone, and I’ll never feel them again, Weiss.” Ruby sighed, tired and surrendered “I just want to go home.”

“Ruby” Weiss spoke to her doing her best to sound sure and comforting “You are home. I…we’re here now, together. It’ll be okay.”

Ruby just buried her face deeper into Weiss’ shoulder, where a damp patch of her tears was forming “I just want to feel happy and safe again.”

“You are.” Weiss tried to say.

“I’m not.” Ruby countered.

“You are right now.” Weiss insisted, grabbing Ruby’s shoulders and gently pushing her back to look at her face to face. “Right now, Ruby, you are safe. You’re safe with me, okay?” she gently cupped one of her cheeks, drying a few tears with her thumb.

Ruby managed to calm down a bit, leaning into the touch, so Weiss pressed on “I’m here, you’re with me. It’s all okay right now, I promise.”

Ruby nodded. She wasn’t sobbing anymore, but tears were still falling “I’m not happy, though.”

For the longest moment Weiss just silently stared at her, not sure about what was the right move to do next.

She tightened her grip on Ruby’s shoulders, shook her head, and slightly leaned forward. Then, on second thought, she changed plan and opted to lean enough to make just their foreheads touch.

Ruby, despite her current condition, didn’t miss that change. She looked into Weiss’ eyes and saw her intentions, her feelings, crystal clear. “Weiss” she said “are you gonna kiss me?”

Weiss took a deep breath, taking time to decide what to answer, before nodding slightly “Yes.”

Ruby tried to take a deep breath herself, only to cut herself off with another sob. “Please…” she whispered then.

With no more hesitation, Weiss placed her hand back on Ruby’s cheek as they were looking at each other. They were both crying now, but in between all the sadness, pain and heartbreak, something else rose.

Hope.

Weiss looked into Ruby’s eyes, and only after seeing she was ready she dared moving forward. “I love you.” She whispered a few inches between their lips.

“I love you too.” Ruby said back the instant before their lips met.

They kissed and it was salty and frightening, but even more than that, reassuring. Loving. Safe.

They kissed holding each other close, and for that small moment Ruby felt safe and happy again.


End file.
